Plant Volatiles: Chemistry, Ecology and Evolution
edited by Renee M. Borges

Its raining bush frogs in the Western Ghats
Kartik Shanker and SP Vijayakumar

Should you find yourself wandering in the cloud-drenched mountains of the Western Ghats, you would be engulfed by a cacophony of frog calls. Many of these will be bush frogs, a group of miniature frogs distributed throughout south and southeast Asia. Some are so small that they can be accommodated on your thumbnail!

The adaptable garden plant Lantana camara has been spreading across India and edging out native species for two hundred years now, despite all efforts to control its growth. Scientists suggest that we could more effectively manage the plant by focusing our attention on riverside habitats.

A recently published research work of Manjari Jain, a former PhD student of Prof. Rohini Balakrishnan and now a faculty at IISER Mohali, has been covered in Indiabioscience. A quote from the article:

Male crickets court their females through song. But in the wild, several species of crickets call together in a cacophonic chorus. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science used a series of experiments that combined rigorous fieldwork and elaborate modeling to find out how the male’s song reaches its mate through the apparent din.

The research work of Joyshree Chanam, a PhD student working with Prof. Renee M Borges, on ant-plant interactions has been covered by the New Scientist magazine.

Dear all,

The Flora of Karnataka online data base will be launched on the 30th of
January, at 11 am by Sri N. Sivasailam, IAS Principal Secretary Forest,
Ecology and Environment Department, Govt. of Karnataka.

The event will be presided by Prof.P.Balram. Prof. K. Sankara Rao, CES,
IISc will present the database and the vote of thanks will be presented by
Prof. R.Sukumar CES, IISc followed by Hight Tea. Please find the
invitation attached.

Venue : Faculty Hall, Main Building, IISc

All are cordially invited.

By Geetha Ramaswami.

Lantana camara L. (lantana), a harmless looking thorny shrub with beautiful yellow and red flowers, is considered to be one of the world’s 100 most noxious weeds. Although a native of South and Central America, it is now found across dry tropics of India. It is often associated with reduced biodiversity and the chemicals it produces, called allelopathic substances, is speculated to be detrimental to growth of native species.